Health

Tummy trouble

Lack of sanitation has caused millions to suffer from diarrhea. You! takes a look...

Many people may not be aware of this, but diarrhea remains the second leading cause of death for children under 5 years of age. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Pakistani children suffer from 25 million cases of diarrhea every year. Approximately, 6 children die every hour due to diarrhea and related diseases and 53,300 children die annually.

The question is, what makes it such a recurring disease? The answer is simple- lack of hygiene. In today’s modern times it might be hard to believe but according to a recent UNICEF study, twenty-five million Pakistanis still defecate in open spaces. The situation is much worse in villages and urban informal settlements (kacchi abaadis) where residents lack access to basic sanitation. Inadequate sanitation also impacts the social determinants of women’s health in informal settlements or slums. And since children’s health is linked with the mother’s health and habits, occurrence of diarrhea is frequent among young children living in hygiene deficient places. Read on as You! takes a look at how one can bring a change to their hygiene in order to prevent diarrhea.

A hygienic you

The link to illnesses such as diarrhea is directly dependent on hygienic behaviour, particularly washing of hands with soap after defecating and before eating or preparing food. Believe it or not, these simple changes to daily hygiene practices can improve the overall health of families by reducing the occurrence of diarrhea. Here are a few basic tips:

Wash it away

Wash hands frequently. Recent studies suggest that regular hand washing can reduce the number of diarrhea bouts by almost 50 per cent.

Always remember to wash your hands before and after preparing food, after handling uncooked meat, using the toilet, changing diapers, sneezing, coughing and blowing your nose.

After putting soap on your hands, rub your hands together for at least 20 seconds.

Use hand sanitizer when washing isn’t possible. Make sure to completely cover the fronts and backs of both hands. Use a product that contains at least 60 percent alcohol since it acts as a disinfectant.

1 Keeping food clean

• Serve food right away or refrigerate it after it has been cooked or reheated. Leaving food out at room temperature can encourage growth of bacteria.
• Wash kitchen surfaces frequently to avoid spreading germs from one food item to another.
• Wash your hands and your work surfaces several times during food preparation.
• Use the refrigerator to thaw frozen items. Or try putting plastic-wrapped frozen items in a bowl of cold water to thaw. Don’t leave frozen items on the counter.

2 General hygiene

• Watch what you eat. Eat hot, well-cooked foods. Avoid raw fruits and vegetables unless you can peel them yourself. Also avoid raw or undercooked meats anddairy foods.
• Watch what you drink. Drink bottled water or soda in its original container.
• Avoid tap water. Beverages from boiled water, such as coffee and tea are safe, but remember that caffeine can aggravate diarrhea and dehydration.
• Eliminate insects that can spread diseases.